


Subject A5 - The Secret Agent

by khaleesivero



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Action, Eventual Smut, Fun, I don't want to spoil anything right now, I'll add tags as I go along, I'll definitely finish this story, M/M, Non-Canon Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Romance, Sassy Newt, What else is new, Wicked - Freeform, clueless Thomas, is not good obviously, kinda a bit like James Bond or Kingsman, newtmas - Freeform, spy AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:54:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6741211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleesivero/pseuds/khaleesivero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>FIC CURRENTLY ON HIATUS SINCE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN AND I'M IN ANGST MOOD<br/>SORRY NOT SORRY</p><p>Thomas works for a firm called WICKED. One day he meets a stranger who warns him about a project - and this sets something in motion that is so much bigger than Thomas... Spy AU with a sassy Newt and a clueless Thomas - but what else is new. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Raini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raini/gifts).



_The man bent forward to get a better look at the cages on the metal table. Inside were white mice, each one in its own tiny prison, and they were dying. It was obvious from the way they had stopped screeching and hurrying about just a few minutes ago. Now they were just lying on the straw, their tiny chests heaving with deep, painful breaths._

_"So it's working", the man said, looking at the suffering animals in a way that could be described as interested rather than sympathetic. His dark brows were furrowed, as if he was afraid to miss even the smallest detail._

_"Of course it's working", the other man, at least a decade younger, wearing glasses and a lab coat, said, rolling his eyes as if that should have been perfectly obvious. "The virus will kill them within the hour. We had to separate them, though. They went mad and tried to kill each other." One of the test subjects screeched again, and the tiny sound reverberated through the cavernous space of a lab. Industrial, practical, sterile. The perfect place to create something like this. Something deadly._

_The older man stood up straight and smiled a tiny smile that didn't reach his eyes - they remained cold and analytical. "That's not a problem", he said, "In fact, it might be a desirable side effect, and our employer will be very happy with the progress. How long do you suppose will it take to create the amounts we need?"_

_The young scientist thought for a moment. He wasn't exactly certain - he was an expert in his field, obviously, but then again, he hadn't done this before. Not that he would have admitted to that. "At this rate, and if the final tests turn out the way we expect them to, about two weeks." He checked the clipboard he was holding and nodded again to strengthen his statement._

_"Final tests?" the older man asked. His face had something distinctly unpleasant; with his tiny eyes and sharp, thin nose, the man looked more like a rat than anything else. It seemed arbitrary that the tiny creatures with which he even shared similar looks were the ones to die while he commanded their death._

_"Yes, final tests", the young scientist confirmed, eager to end this conversation and go back to work. He wouldn't have admitted it, but the Rat-Man was freaking him out. "After all", he added, already turning his back to the older man, "the virus has to be tested on humans, too."_


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas meets a tall blond stranger.

The tube was silent, almost eerily so, except for the rattling sounds it created as it hurried across the tracks. Thomas didn't mind the quiet, sleepy atmosphere of his morning commute. Nobody bothered him as he checked his email and skimmed through the day's headlines on his New York Times app. No need to check the British news - they stared at him from the front pages of the papers the people around him held up to put some distance between themselves and the world.

When Thomas had received an offer to move to England last autumn, his first thought had been to refuse. Having grown up in sunny California, he didn't really feel like moving to a country famous for its bad food and never-ending rain. Also, his comfort zone really wasn't too big - about the space of his dorm room, really - and moving to another continent was way out of that zone. However, he was now four months into his stay, April showers weren't all that bad (or frequent, for that matter), his job was amazing and London was a beautiful, vibrant city that made him miss his student times in New York City and law school less than he would have thought. And didn't they say life started where one's comfort zone ends? It seemed true for Thomas. In these four months, he had done and seen more than in his entire life - or at least it felt that way, even if he was just taking Sunday strolls through Hyde Park or having a pint with his colleagues after work.

The firm Thomas was working for held the curious name of WICKED, which was short for "Water Intoxication Control - Killing Environmental Damage" (yes, that did sound a tiny bit... dramatic). The company was concerned with testing water released back into rivers, lakes and seas, checking whether it was actually harmful to eco systems. Thomas worked in the law department that filed lawsuits against companies whose water didn't adhere to the prescribed standards, and while he was still mostly doing research, he was reasonably proud of having landed an offer by such a firm at the young age of 24. Surely, there were more prestigious and better-paid jobs, but he enjoyed it, knowing he was contributing to a better tomorrow. Plus, the job came with a tiny service accommodation, which was brilliant, given the fact that London was one of the most expensive cities in the world concerning rent.

So now here he was, wearing a respectable suit and tie at eight thirty in the morning, sitting on a train belonging to the Central line to make the fifty-minute commute from his shoebox of a flat in Hammersmith to his workplace near the Bank station. The young lawyer was quite tired due to the fact that he had stayed up late to Skype with his family. His parents hadn't heard from him in weeks, drowning in paper work as he was, and had insisted on talking to him the night before. They had never been to Europe, and with neither of them having gone to college, they were always immensely proud of their son and wanted to know everything there was to know. Thus, his brunet hair was not as neat-looking as usual, and Thomas stifled the occasional yawn. He decided to stop by Greggs on his way to work to get a coffee - even though there was plenty of the caffeinated drink to be had at WICKED, he didn't want his first action of his work day to be a zombie-esque shuffle towards the coffeemaker. What would his colleagues think of him, especially since most of them only cared for tea?

A quick glance at his watch told him there was plenty of time to get coffee, and so he took the detour to one of London's uncountable coffee shops, waited in line in the calm way that was so typical for the English and that he had picked up quickly, and got his double espresso. Walking out of the shop, Thomas glanced at the cloudy sky and prayed that the rain wouldn't hit before he got to the office, which was a mere five-minute walk from the coffee shop. Speeding up his pace, he checked his watch again and almost ran into a man walking in front of him.

"Sorry, I didn't see-" Thomas started to say before stopping himself, because he couldn't understand how he had managed to not-see the man.

He was young, approximately his own age, but where Thomas was dark-haired, the other man was fair, his blond hair orderly parted in a way that the brunet could only think of as _typically British_. The young lawyer was not at all short, but this guy was seriously tall, at least six three, if not taller. He was wearing a suit as well, but it wasn't decent like Thomas'; it had definitely been made by an Italian man with a sonorous, expensive name and, despite being black and simple, surely cost more than what Thomas earned in a month. Even the tall black umbrella the man was holding seemed to be a well-chosen accessory. All in all, the blond's style was deeply elegant, but it was his face that gave it something... Dangerous. The huge dark eyes glinted with a sort of hidden humour, like the man would enjoy going bungee-jumping in his spare time.

_What an odd thought to have._ "My apologies, Sir", Thomas started anew, "I must still be half-asleep."

The young man smiled in a nonchalant way - half charming, half amused. "Don't worry about it, Mr - Edison, if I'm not mistaken?" His dark eyes, Thomas noted, didn't smile along with his lips - they were lively, taking in his every reaction.

_How the hell does he know my name?_

"Yes, Mr-" Thomas couldn't even pretend to know who that guy was, even though he looked every bit like a person he ought to know. Was he his boss, in a way? A junior project manager maybe, or a section leader? No, surely he was too young for any such responsibilities? The brunet cursed himself for not being more awake and thinking so slowly.

The man fell into step beside Thomas and he caught the scent of his aftershave - simple but pleasant, and he had to restrain himself from sniffing it. The stranger, not noticing Thomas' intoxication, glanced up at the sky. "Looks like rain, doesn't it?" he said in his agreeable voice. The young lawyer frowned; he still didn't understand why the British were so obsessed with the weather, but then again, it was an easy topic for conversation. "I suppose so", he answered, (pathetically) proud of himself for adapting to the conversation so easily. He glanced over at the blond man; he looked so perfectly at ease in this slightly peculiar situation - his posture was immaculate while his stroll seemed casual as he swung his umbrella the way a child would, without seeming childish himself, and Thomas couldn't help but feel a bit envious of him. "Forgive me, but I don't really know who you are...?" He made it sound like a question in case he was committing the ultimate faux-pas.

But apparently he wasn't; the blond man waved his weak attempt away like one would an annoying fly. "My name doesn't matter", he said dismissively, but not unpleasantly, as if he were too modest to mention his achievements. "But I have heard you are doing good work."

"I am?" Thomas asked, stunned. He immediately cursed himself - he _did_ do his best, he wasn't stupid, he'd gone to law school and he'd had perfect grades. It just seemed so unlikely that he in his position as a small employee would be known to a man whose suit screamed _I am bespoke_.

The other man smiled pleasantly. "But of course, Mr Edison. I am sure you will soon be introduced to some of the more... Elaborate projects." He had stopped walking. His posture was attentive now, alert, even. Or did Thomas imagine that? Thunder rumbled above, and the young man glanced up at the dark clouds that covered the London sky. They wouldn't hold much longer.

"I hope so", Thomas answered vaguely, wondering what the man wanted from him. "Are you coming?" He nodded towards the office complex. "It's going to start pouring any minute now."

The man smiled a tiny smile, and Thomas couldn't help noticing how _good_ he looked. The huge dark eyes and perfect nose harmonised perfectly with his full lips. "No, I have an appointment", he said dismissively. Then, in a quick gesture, he put his hand on Thomas' shoulder, and the brunet jumped in surprise at the sudden touch. "Just a quick word of advice - try not to cross anyone working on Project Flare."

Thomas stared at the hand on his shoulder, then at the man's face, then again at the hand. "Wh-what? Who are you?" he stuttered, truly upset now. Was this guy really an employee working for WICKED, or was he some lunatic, or did he even want to steal important company secrets? Files maybe?

The man smiled. "It's been good talking to you", and with a slight squeeze of his shoulder, he let go of Thomas and turned around. Thomas stared after him, absolutely stunned. "Wait!" he yelled, and made to go after the strange man, when the first raindrop fell onto his face, wetting the tip of his nose with unpleasant coldness. He glanced up quickly before looking for the blond guy again - but he was gone. Huh. That was weird. There weren't too many people on the street, and a (tall and handsome) man like that shouldn't have been able to vanish so quickly. But then again, he _had_ been weird. What had he advised him to do? _Try not to cross anyone working on Project Flare_ \- what was that supposed to mean? What was Project Flare? And how the hell did that stranger know anything about what was going on inside the walls of the WICKED building when Thomas himself, who'd been working there for months, didn't have a clue what the words _Project Flare_ stood for? And how was it advisable not to "cross" anyone working on it? 

Man, that guy surely had given him something to think about.

Or so he thought. Within seconds, the rain caught on and became heavy and sheet-like, the way it sometimes did in London. Thomas cursed under his breath and ran for the main entrance - trying to find his umbrella in his messenger bag would have taken too much time and wasted precious seconds he could already have spent inside the dry warmth of the office complex. He hastily made for the doors and, for the second time that day, ran into someone because of sheer carelessness.

It was Teresa, a pretty woman maybe a year younger than Thomas. She worked in the environment department on the second floor, and the brunet hardly ever saw her except for his lunch break in the cafeteria, but he looked forward to it every day. He'd had a crush on her ever since she had presented a new project idea a few weeks into his stay. Not that he'd understood an awful lot, but being smart and beautiful was just a killer combination. (That would be Teresa. Not him.) "Jesus, I'm sorry!", Thomas exclaimed and stepped back to let Teresa walk through the automatic doors first.

The young woman smiled. "Don't worry about it", she said with her slight accent that sounded vaguely Northern to Thomas (even though he had absolutely no clue about British accents) before walking briskly through the lobby and over to the staircase (the environmental people often took the stairs, but Thomas never did - he wasn't too crazy about climbing stairs in his suit). He couldn't help looking after her, and the way she shrugged her wet trench coat off and straightened her green dress while the raindrops were still glistening in her long, dark hair banned every thought of handsome blond strangers from his head. _And I bet she doesn't even know who I am..._. He sighed.

So Thomas took the elevator up to his office, greeted his colleagues good morning, and started working. It turned out to be a perfectly normal day, and even though it had begun in a strange fashion, the young lawyer did not really think of his weird encounter with the blond man for a couple of days until he'd almost forgotten about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the first decent-ish chapter and I hope you liked it, guys :)  
> Respectful feedback is like my favourite thing in the world so I'd appreciate that very much :)  
> Thanks so much and I'll be back soon <3  
> Loads of love xx


	3. Suspecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas hears something he's not supposed to hear and makes a grave mistake...

It was early Thursday morning, three days after he had met the handsome stranger, when Thomas first saw the man. He was on his way through the atrium, checking something on his phone (he knew a legal-staff meeting was scheduled for today, but he couldn't recall whether it would take place at ten or ten thirty), when he saw him standing next to the elevator. That wouldn't have been unusual, were it not that the elevator was there, waiting with open doors, and the man wasn't getting in. He seemed fidgety, probably waiting for someone or something, and didn't appear to register anything around himself. Maybe he hadn't yet realised that the lift had arrived?

Thomas approached the elevator, peering inside curiously. Everything seemed all right. "Is something not working?", he asked the man, whose back was turned to him as if the young lawyer were invisible. At that question, the man turned around, and Thomas tried to suppress a start upon looking at his face.

The man had a very pointed face, full of sharp angles. His grey eyes were hard like steel, and his whole demeanour spoke of arrogance. Thomas would have compared his face to that of a rat, were it not that he actually quite liked the little animals and had never understood why people were disgusted by them. No, rats were definitely way cuter than Mr Rat-Man here. They also didn't wear extremely expensive-looking suits, though, like this specimen.

The man seemed to study him briefly before flashing him a polite, meaningless little smile. "Not at all", he said, his voice almost bored. "I'm just waiting for someone. You take it." He gestured towards the elevator. Thomas thought his behaviour to be peculiar - why not wait for someone in their office, one of the visitor lounges, or the cafeteria? "Would you like me to show you a more comfortable waiting spot?" the young man asked, assuming the visitor didn't know his way around.

"No, thank you", the stranger said, seemingly a bit irritated to be bothered by Thomas, which Thomas thought to be quite rude in turn; he was only trying to be polite. "Suit yourself", he said, stepping into the lift and pressing the button with the number two on it. The door closed, and Thomas caught a last glimpse at the Rat-Man. _Curious_ , he thought, _what a strange person._ It only then occurred to him that this hadn't been the first strange encounter he'd had this week; he remembered the handsome blond bloke he had talked to just Monday morning. Was something the matter? Was his firm in trouble? 

He discarded the thought. Everything was fine. He worked for a big firm in a big city - there were bound to be weird people. It wasn't like that wasn't true for New York as well! Smiling, he thought of a guy who had thought to be the reincarnation of Julius Cesar who had lived above him and watched movies about Ancient Rome 24/7. So what if that dude downstairs didn't want to wait in the cafeteria? It was no big deal.

When was his meeting again? Ten or ten thirty?

...

The morning passed quickly; in the meeting (it took place at eleven) the team Thomas was working with got a new case to investigate - a big firm up in Aberdeenshire was said to gloss over oil spills that occurred regularly near one of their drilling spots, which had disastrous consequences for the ground water, and the team was supposed to read through the evidence, investigate the firm's legal history and generally do a thorough background check. 

A fresh pile of files was waiting for Thomas on his desk, but he still went for a quick lunch into the cafeteria on the first floor. Aris, one of his young colleagues, joined him. Aris was not a native speaker of English, but he'd studied International Law in Den Haag and his grammar was better than Thomas'. Apart from that, he had a broad, open face that was often decorated with a smile, thick blond curls, and he was terribly smart and fun in a nerdy way, and the young lawyer enjoyed his company as they ate their casserole. Upon scanning the room, Teresa caught Thomas' eye. She was again dressed in casual smart clothes and looked absolutely stunning.

"Earth to Thomas, hello?" The brunet was snapped out of his stupor by Aris' hand waving in front of his face. He couldn't even pretend to have listened. "Huh?"

Aris grinned. "The environmental girls, am I right?" He winked.

Thomas blushed. "Maybe." There was no use in denying it, so he might as well go for the diplomatic way. Typical lawyer.

His colleague waved it away. "Don't be embarrassed, that Teresa chick is really cute. I wish I knew how to talk to her, but I feel like she is way out of my league."

Thomas sighed. "I feel you, brother. Not literally though."

Aris laughed, and they turned back to their lunch.

...

Aris had to go downstairs to pick up some old confidential documents of lawsuits previously filed against the firm they were investigating, and so Thomas walked up the stairs alone (because yes, two flights of stairs were manageable). He had barely touched the first flight with his foot when he heard a voice.

"And you're sure it's going well?" The voice was female, and Thomas was quite sure that he had never heard it before.

"Yes. Science says we're good to go in a few weeks. There were a few problems with the animals, but now they're dying like flies. Project Flare is coming along just fine."

Thomas froze. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, and what was even worse, he was absolutely sure he shouldn't be hearing what he was hearing. Without thinking about it, he turned around and walked back into the cafeteria. Trying to keep his face straight, he approached the elevator, and all the while, his head was spinning.

_There were a few problems with the animals, but now they're dying like flies._

_Project Flare._

The stranger on Monday had mentioned Project Flare. He had said that anybody working on Project Flare was not to be crossed. Why not? Was Project Flare an initiative to kill animals? To poison them? Maybe to let one of the firms they sued look bad?

That would be wrong on so many levels.

And what was even worse, he had recognised the second speaker. Not really. Only by voice, though. The bored drawl had belonged to the Rat-Man he had met this morning.

The elevator arrived, and Thomas stepped inside, surprised to see Aris in it.

"That was quicker than I thought", he said chirpily. "Jeff from downstairs had prepared it all." Thomas just nodded. 

"Are you okay?" his colleague asked.

Thomas nodded again. "I feel a headache coming on." But that was, of course, a lie.

...

Back at his desk, Thomas tried to get his thoughts in order. On Monday, a stranger had warned him about Project Flare. Today, another stranger appeared in this very building, obviously belonging to said project. Could this be a coincident? Thomas didn't think so. The question was, what were his options? He could pretend he'd never heard anything about the whole thing, but if his firm was really killing animals, he couldn't just stand by and let it happen. This was supposed to be an eco-friendly company, for crying out loud!

Then again, was it really realistic that his employers would do such a thing? Maybe Rat-Man was a spy, dangerous, harming the firm? Should Thomas talk to anyone about him? The man had used the elevator as if he belonged - but what if that had only been a camouflage? Pretending to be important so nobody would question his presence?

Thomas had no way of finding out. Telling anyone would be way too dangerous. Asking his boss about Project Flare was also a bad idea - how should he explain where he'd got the information? _Oh, you know, some seriously well-dressed dude told me about it on the street?_ He would lose his job before he could say "Wicked". No, not an option.

He glanced at his computer screen.

_The computer._ Maybe there were some files somewhere? He was a full member of the company, surely he could read any files he wanted to. Thomas hesitated. But yeah, it was worth a shot.

He logged himself into the intranet and typed "Flare" into the search field and pressed enter. While the computer was loading, he could again feel his heart racing in his chest.

Several files popped up. Huh, that was easy.

Clicking on the first file, however, Thomas found that he had no authority to access the data. The same was true for the second one, and clicking on the remaining four files also resulted in an error notification, but nothing more.

Thomas dragged his hand through his barely orderly hair. Six files, all of them top secret. So there _was_ a Project Flare. And he was not supposed to know about it.

"Edison! Are you done with the first report?" a voice called from a different desk. "Because then I'm gonna go straight to the second one!"

He was way too shaken to register anything. "Sure", he called out, still not knowing what to do. Should he tell someone? Or should he just go on working?

Thomas got up, fixed himself a coffee at the machine and returned to his desk, taking deep breaths. He couldn't do anything about this now. He mustn't be irrational. He should just go back to the task at hand.

Leafing through the report, he groaned. It was gonna be a long afternoon, and with his heart not in it, it might even take him until tomorrow.

Well, he'd better get started, then.

Trying to forget everything he'd just found out, Thomas grabbed a highlighter and started reading.

...

"Sir?" The secretary's voice disturbed the silence of his office, causing the Rat-Man to lose his line.

"Yes?" he asked, grumpily. He had given her strict orders only to disturb him in important cases; hopefully for her, this was one.

The young woman hovered by the door, nervously playing with a strand of her red hair. "Someone tried to access the authorised data on Project Flare", she said.

It was an important case.

The man jumped to his feet and followed his secretary out of the room to her computer. "Who?", he asked, leaning over her chair to look at the picture. The young man looked vaguely familiar.

"A Thomas Edison, sir", she said. "Newby. Law department." Law department? Oh, sure, the kid from this morning, the man realised - the same exact dark hair and innocent-looking features. He hadn't liked his face back then. It seemed like his knowledge of people once more hadn't let him down.

"Oh Thomas", he sighed, "why couldn't you keep your nose in those law reports, where it belongs?" He made to leave for his office again.

"Sir? What orders?" his secretary asked, and the man turned around, stopping briefly.

"Well, isn't that obvious? Eliminate him." He smiled, then turned and walked back into his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys,  
> sorry I'm late updating, college is mental at the moment, but here it is - the new chapter :)  
> Sorry we had so much exposition to do but I promise Newt will be back in the next chapter and he will be AWESOME (because, duh, he's Newt).  
> So I hope you enjoyed this, let me know what you think and I'll be back soon (I hope) with new content!  
> Loads of love xx

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I'm back :)  
> For those who don't know me yet - so happy that you've found me :)  
> Disclaimer - I'm not a native speaker of English (although people say my Scottish accent is very authentic) and I don't own any of the characters - I just love Newt and Minho so much :D  
> Hope you can enjoy this story <3  
> Loads of love :3


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